Socket for wind instruments



B. F. WINTERHOFF.

SOCKET FOR WIND INSTRUMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 10, 1920.

1,376,986. Patented y 3, 1921.

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PATENT o FFICE.

BENJAMIN IF. WINTERHOFF, OF ELKHART, INDIANA.

SOCKET FOR WIND :"INSTRUMEN TS.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN F. WINTER- HOFF, a citizen of the United States, and resident of El'khart, in the county of Elkhart and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Socketsfor Wind Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

This invention-relates to improvements in musical instruments, and more particularly to that class of musical instruments commonly known as wind reed musical instruments or wood wind instruments. These instruments, as constructed today, have upstanding collars surrounding the key ports therein and intermediate their ends, to form seats for the key closure caps for the ports. These collars form a pocket in the instrument which acts as a baffle to the current of air passing through the instrument when played, which results in marring the tones of the notes roduced, and require, by reason of these ba ing pockets, a greater effort on the part of the performer to blow through the instrument with sufiicient force to obtain the desired results.

The rincipal object of this invention is to eliminate these bafiling pockets and produce an instrument with a continuous air passage therethrough clear of all obstructions which could interfere with the passage of the air, and thereby producing a rounded tone and notes of a better timbre.

I obtain these objects by placing a very narrow head around the ports of the instrument, and providing a closure cap therefor, which, in cross-section, is identical in contour to that portion of the instrument in which the port is located, and lining the inner or contacting face of the closure cap with a yieldable material, such as sheepskin or felt, in which the bead will embed itself to such an extent as to bring the inner face of such material practically in alinement with the inner circumference of the instru ment, thereby eliminating all obstruction to the passage of a current of air therethrough.

In order that those skilled in the art to which my invention pertains may more readily understand the invention, I will now describe the same as applied to a saxophone, it being understood, however, that the invention is applicable to all wind instruments having ports therein and closure caps for closing'said ports.

4 Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 10, 1920. Serial No. 364,674.

Patented May 3, 1921.

In the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification,-

Figure 1 represents a section of a saxophone;

F ig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on line oa of Fig. 1; and

Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6 are modified forms of the bead surrounding the port in the instrument.

Like reference characters represent like parts throughout the drawings.

1- represents a saxophone, 2 the note port therein, and 3 is the bead surrounding the port. 4 is the port cap which is faced on its under side by a cushion member 5, which may be of sheepskin, felt, or any other suitable material. Beads 3 will be seated in cushion 5, as at 6, by reason of the tension exerted on lever arm 7 by spring 11, and thereby bring the under face of cushion 5 in practical alinement with the inner circumference :v of the instrument. 7 is a lever arm which is pivotally mounted in bracket 8, as at 9, which carries at its outer end finger plate 10, and closure cap 4 at its 0pposite end, and which is normally held in closed position by spring 11.

From'the foregoing it will be readily seen that the air passage through an instrument constructed according to my invention will be devoid of all obstructions or offsets to interfere with a current of air passing therethrough.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a wind musical instrument having a port therein, a bead surrounding said port and a closure cap for said port conforming to the contour, in cross-section, of said instrument.

2. In a wind musical instrument having a port therein, a bead surrounding said port.

3. In a wind musical instrument havingv a port therein, the edge of said port being headed, a closure cap for said port, the inner face of said cap being in substantial alinement with the inner circumference of said instrument, when the cap is in closed position.

4. In a wind musical instrument, having a port therein, a bead surrounding said ort, a closure cap, said closure cap being aced with a material, which enables the head to embed itself therein in such manner as to substantially aline the inner face of said cap and the inner circumference of said instrument when the closure cap is in its closed position.

5. In a wind musical instrument having ports therein. heads surrounding said ports, closure caps for said ports, said caps being faced with such a material, that, when said caps are seated on said ports, the inner circumference of sand mstrument will have no 10 off-set therein.

6. In a wind musical instrument having a )ort therein, a head surrounding said port said head being formed by over-lapping the portion of the musical instrument adjacent said port on itself, a closure cap for said port, said cap being faced with such a material that when said cap is seated on said port the inner circumference of said instrument will have noofl-set therein.

BENJAMIN F. WINTERHOF F 

